Some examples of methods and apparatus for bundling and transporting cargo are disclosed in:                U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,220 entitled “Method of storing and dispensing lumber” issued Aug. 20, 1935 to Chambers;        U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,173 entitled “Shipping unit” issued Sep. 10, 1940 to Nebe;        U.S. Pat. No. 2,248,119 entitled “Method and apparatus for assembling and shipping rods” issued Jul. 8, 1941 to Reed et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,141,482 entitled “Core mill” issued Jul. 21, 1964 to Arness;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,157,424 entitled “Storage rack” issued Nov. 17, 1964 to Hall;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,583 entitled “Bundling of elongated articles” issued Nov. 30, 1965 to Robertson;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,639 entitled “System for shipping products and stabilizing them from shifting sidewise on vehicle” issued Dec. 14, 1993 to Ryder;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,468 entitled “Storage rack system” issued Apr. 13, 1999 to Holmes;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,761 entitled “Shipping container system for stabilizing flexible loads” issued Apr. 18, 2000 to Keip et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,188 entitled “Method, apparatus and system for pre-bunking cut timber and transporting wood residuals” issued Sep. 14, 2010 to Whitehead et al;        U.S. Pub. No. 2001/0029847 entitled “Rack for producing transport bundles of stacked lumber, and bundle production” published Oct. 18, 2001 in the name of Tweten; and        U.S. Pub. No. 2002/0009345 entitled “Cargo container” published Jan. 24, 2002 in the name of Clive-Smith.        
“Peeler cores” are small diameter log remnants left over after a log has been “peeled” to yield thin plies for making plywood or veneers. They are a relatively low value wood byproduct; nevertheless, there is a market for peeler cores. Because of their small diameter and short length (relative to, e.g., unsawn logs), special arrangements must be made for their shipment (compared to, e.g., unsawn logs or finished lumber products). The low value of the cores puts a limit on the costs suppliers and purchasers are willing to bear to ship the cores.
In one conventional method for shipping peeler cores, custom made “bunk racks” are welded to flatbed trailers, in an arrangement similar to log truck trailers. The purchaser or supplier of the peeler cores, or a trucking company, must have such trailers custom made, which then spend much time sitting empty or partly filled at the core mill. The supplier fills the bunks with loose peeler cores and calls for trucks to pull out the bunk trailers once filled. The trucking company will often have an empty bunk trailer to bring and drop off when picking up the full trailer. This is a costly system for shipping peeler cores long distances, because it is effectively a two-way shipment (one way full and one way empty); typically the cost of freight for this method is double that of a one way haul.
In a conventional method disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,468, a storage rack system suitable for transporting peeler cores or other such elongated items includes mobile carriages (i.e., bunk racks) that can be detached from a trailer for filling while the trailer is used for other purposes. Once filled, the mobile carriages are secured to the trailer and transported from the supplier location to the purchaser location. However, the empty carriages still must be transported empty back to the supplier location. In another conventional method disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,188, a storage rack system suitable for transporting peeler cores or other such elongated items includes foldable or retractable bunk members that enable the trailer to be used for other purposes. The trailer is still tied up while it sits empty or only partly filled at the supplier location.
In other conventional methods disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,248,119, U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,583, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,639, peeler cores or other elongated items are “unitized” into a regular, polygonal bundle, in some cases with supporting members strapped to the bundle to maintain its shape. Such regular bundles can be loaded onto standard flatbed trucks or trailers for shipment, thereby eliminating the two-way shipment costs associated with methods described above. However, assembling the regular arrays of articles required for these methods is quite time consuming and labor intensive, often to an extent that substantially negates any savings realized in the shipping costs.
It would be desirable to develop methods that enable more economical bundling, loading, and shipping of peeler cores or other elongated articles.